An Administrative Law Dilemma from Taxing the Economic Presence in Cloud Computing Post-Constitutional Court Decision in Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25041/aelr.v7i1.4586

Abstract

The expansion of the digital economy, particularly cloud computing, has exposed structural limitations in Indonesia’s Income Tax framework, which remains based on physical presence. In response, the government introduced the concept of significant economic presence as a new taxation basis, yet this reform was undermined when the Constitutional Court annulled its statutory foundation. Using a normative conceptual approach, this research moves beyond problem identification by proposing a concrete legislative solution to the resulting regulatory vacuum. Its contribution lies in offering a legal reconstruction model that reinstates the significant economic presence nexus within the permanent Income Tax Law by redefining the digital economy and Permanent Establishment to include quantitative indicators such as revenue thresholds and user participation. The study concludes that harmonizing Income Tax regulations with constitutional principles would strengthen legal certainty and improve Indonesia’s capacity to tax digital services such as cloud computing.

Keywords:

Cloud Computing, Digital Economy, Income Tax, Administrative Law, Permanent Establishment, Tax Law

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Authors

  • Andi Firyani Syabina Universitas Hasanuddin, Indonesia
  • Ahmad Masum SHHB Faculty of Law, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, Brunei Darussalam
  • Ahsan Yunus Universitas Hasanuddin, Indonesia
  • Achmad Ruslan Universitas Hasanuddin, Indonesia

Published

2026-02-04

How to Cite

Syabina, Andi Firyani, Ahmad Masum, Ahsan Yunus, and Achmad Ruslan. 2026. “An Administrative Law Dilemma from Taxing the Economic Presence in Cloud Computing Post-Constitutional Court Decision in Indonesia”. Administrative and Environmental Law Review 7 (1):1-20. https://doi.org/10.25041/aelr.v7i1.4586.

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